A cholera outbreak in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State has resulted in the death of 35 people within two days.
The chairman of the local government area, Prof. Ibrahim Bukar confirmed that the outbreak happened in Pulka, one of the few towns housing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the area.
Bukar disclosed on Monday, August 30th at the Government House Multipurpose Hall while addressing the national boundary commission representatives during an interactive session with stakeholders in border communities in Borno State.
He also revealed that over 156 persons are currently on admission because of the outbreak.
He said, “My area, Pulka, has been affected by diarrhoea and vomiting. We have lost 35 people within two days and over 156 are on admission right now. This is attributed to poor nature of water that we have,”
“Most sources of water in the destroyed border communities have been polluted with corpses, and chemicals and are not good for human consumption.”
He emphasised the need to provide a clean water supply to all affected communities in order to prevent water-borne diseases among the populace.
Attempting to give a reason for the spread of the disease, the chairman attributed it to the increased population in the area since it is a designated IDP location.
“There is population explosion in Pulka at the moment and several other host communities where IDPs are kept in most northern local government areas of the state.
“There are over 100,000 households in Pulka town alone; and there are no enough amenities like clean water supply to meet the demands of this population, although some NGOs have been doing their best to complement the efforts of the state government.
“However, much needs to be done to ensure sustained supply of clean water to the town,” he added.
